As a side note, a forum friend has a 67-72 truck with a T5, 250ci and a 3.42 rear. His OD gear is 0.72 and he complained to me that he has to down shift on hills because the engine bogs.
That is why it is not called an automatic transmission.
To further clarify my earlier comment, my friend was complaining that his truck couldn't seem to manage even
SMALL HILLS and inclines. If the gearing is correct for the engine and driving conditions, then
small hills shouldn't require downshifting at normal RPMs.
Even an AT such as a 700R4 will be down shifting on small inclines if the rear diff is not properly matched with the engine HP. That's why Chevy S10 4 cylinder trucks had 0.86 OD gears and 0.72 OD gears in the 6 bangers.
